Time and Space
by rookiebluefan89
Summary: Post 2x13. Slightly AU. What if Sam never approached her in his truck that night?
1. Chapter 1

**This is a slighty-AU take on post 2x13. It's assumed that she didn't see him again that night after he walked out of the farmhouse (As in, he didn't approach her in his truck and ask her to "be normal together"). ****This story will be very focused on Andy's feelings, not Sam's. ****It's angsty for the first little while, but I do hope you enjoy it.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue or any characters.

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><p>For the hundredth time in the past three weeks, Andy flipped open her cell phone and dialed his number and for the hundredth time, she reached his voicemail. Leaving a message was completely pointless; she had figured that out after leaving multiple ones for weeks and receiving zero response. This time was different though, as the automated voice instructed her that his voicemail box was now full. She sighed and threw her phone to the other end of the couch, watching as it slid through the cushions. She sluggishly laid her head back on the arm of the couch and turned to watch another episode of whatever show was repeating itself on TLC.<p>

As usual, she lost focus and her mind began to wander back to Sam. She hadn't seen him or even heard his voice, except for that frustrating 'leave a message' voice clip on his phone, since he walked out of the farm house three weeks before. It was the longest she had ever been away from him since the day they met. She missed him like crazy.

She thought back to the day at the farm house three weeks before. She had never experienced such an overwhelming sense of relief and comfort when she saw him walk out the front door. She felt his eyes staring only at her and her heart began racing as he stepped down the stairs and he stopped to look at her.

When he paused, she quickly felt her sense of relief turn into a sense of confusion and fear. He was bloody, breathless and obviously in pain. Throughout her two years working with him, she had never seen him look so vulnerable. His face was a mix of panic, terror and exhaustion. She wanted so badly to reach out and touch him to make sure he was truly there, but before she had the chance, he walked past her swiftly and didn't look back.

Andy left the precinct later that night after receiving her suspension notice and walked home slowly, giving herself some time to deeply analyze _everything_ that had happened. In the notice, she was given very specific rules to not be in contact with him. She absolutely took Frank's words seriously; her job depended on it, but she seriously doubted her capability for staying away from Sam for any length of time. She had him to herself for an amazing few days and now, she was never letting him go.

For a day, she was able to diligently follow the rules by keeping herself busy and pretending to be interested in daytime television. As much as she wanted to, she did not attempt to call him. She tried to convince herself that it was for his sake as she was told he was suspended along with her. Calling him would be a breach of their suspension and he definitely did not need any more hardship in his life.

By the middle of the second day, she couldn't hold off any longer and quickly pressed the number two; his spot on her speed dial. It rang and rang until it finally reached his voicemail. She frantically babbled into the speaker, telling him how much she missed him and wanted to see him until she was cut off by the beep.

"_Sam! Hey, it's me. Umm, I hope you're feeling a bit better! You should be resting, and I can almost guarantee that you're not right now," she giggled hesitantly, clearing her throat to switch to a serious tone. "Look, I'm _so_ unbelievably sorry about… everything. I can't even believe how stupid I was to go back to that bar and then back to your place and then _again_ and… Basically I can add to my list of 'Andy McNally's screw-ups' for the year and we both know how long that list could get. But uh, I think you should know that what happened with us is not on that list. I don't want you to think I regret it, because I don't…at all. I regret being such an idiot and almost getting you killed, obviously, but honestly I was happier when I was with you than I have been in a really long time. I don't know where we are right now… but I do know that I miss you. I know we not supposed to see each other but I don't think I can last three weeks. Can you just call me back and we'll…"_

He never returned her call, or acknowledged the multiple times she attempted to call him in the days after.

In the beginning, she was in denial. Andy made up every excuse possible for why he wouldn't be answering her calls day after day. She assumed he must have been busy getting his life back in order after being undercover. It was possible that he was spending time sleeping away his pain from the torturous day with Brennan or maybe he had left the city for a break for a few weeks. After everything they had been through together, she knew there was no possible way that he could have been avoiding her calls.

It wasn't long until denial turned into irritation. She showed up at his apartment half way through her suspension and pounded on his door until her hand felt like it was breaking. She yelled through the door for him to answer using derogatory terms that she hadn't used since high school. She didn't care if he was angry at her; she would apologize to him over and over again if that's what he needed to hear. She knew he was home and ignoring her and she decided early on that she wasn't leaving until he opened the door. An hour later, she slowly walked away from his house with clenched fists, blinking back the tears she refused to let fall.

Eventually, the anger turned into sadness. Andy had herself convinced that he blamed her for everything that happened. He had been tortured by a psychopath because of her own selfish needs. She resorted to calling Oliver after two and a half weeks of zero contact with Sam. He assured her Sam was alive, but he refused to tell her anything else. She practically begged him to give her _something_, but to no avail. He simply told her to give Sam some time to process everything and get his life back together. It was only at that point that she shed some tears, pleading with Oliver to tell her what was wrong with Sam and why he wouldn't talk to her. He didn't have the answers she was looking for but promised her she would be seeing him on their first day back on Wednesday.

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><p>Andy reached over and smacked her alarm clock to stop the irritating beeping noise. She yawned and did a full body stretch before rolling out of bed and heading for the shower. It was finally Wednesday, the first day back to work. She hated the suspension for many reasons but one of the main ones was that she had truly missed working. She loved her job and vowed not to be suspended again, if she could help it anyway.<p>

That day was different though, because it was the first day she had ever been nervous to see Sam. Every other day of her career, he had been somewhat of a rock to her. She could always lean on him for support and advice and he would always tell it like it was, whether she wanted to hear it or not. She knew he would have supported her no matter what mistakes she made and he would have taken the blame for any and all of her faults. At least she hoped so.

After the three weeks she had experienced without hearing from him, the thought of seeing him was alarming. It caused a bundle of nerves to form in the pit of her stomach for most of the morning. She had no appetite and settled for a cup of coffee as her breakfast. It was one of those days that she was happy to walk to work. She desperately needed to clear her head and breathe some fresh air before seeing him.

She walked aimlessly into the station and headed through the hallways, stopping to say a quick hello to some of her colleagues who had welcomed her back. She was thrilled to see that the officers didn't seem to have any negativity towards her especially because they all knew what she had done during the undercover.

When she entered the locker room, she was elated to see Traci was already there and greeted her with a hug. If there was one person who could help her get through that day, it was Traci.

"Welcome back!" Traci exclaimed, hugging her tight.

"Thanks, Trace," Andy replied, anxiety creeping up into her voice. "I really am happy to be back."

Traci pulled back from their hug. She put her hands on Andy's shoulders and looked directly in her eyes. "It's gonna be fine, Andy. I promise. He probably had a lot going on in the past few weeks. Just relax, okay?"

Andy nodded and took a deep, calming breath as she tried to convince herself that Traci was right. "I hope so," she replied quietly. "I just have no idea what's going on with him. I don't know if he's mad at me or upset over what happened… It's incredibly frustrating."

"I know," Traci admitted softly, putting a calming hand on Andy's fidgeting ones. "I'm sure he's nervous about seeing you too."

"Ugh, I doubt that. We're talking about Sam here," Andy sighed. "He doesn't get _nervous_ about stupid things like this."

Traci shook her head. Of course Andy hadn't seen Sam nervous; it was always when she was the one in trouble. "He does when it has something to do with you, trust me," she giggled. "Come on, hurry up and get dressed so we can get to parade on time."

Andy gave her a small smile before opening up her locker and grabbing her uniform to quickly get changed.

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><p>Andy sat in her usual seat in the parade room and spent a few minutes catching up with the other rookies. They had seen each other a few times during Andy's suspension, but certainly not as often as they did when they worked together. She glanced around the room a few times to check for Sam, but he still hadn't arrived. She kept her hands in her lap and massaged one of her palms with her thumb in an attempt to calm her nerves.<p>

"Officers of fifteen, attention up front please," Frank bellowed, heading up to the front of the room.

She felt a nudge in her ribs and when she looked up, Traci quickly motioned for her to look to the back of the room. Andy spun her head around and watched as Sam settled against the back wall beside Noelle. Her heart beat suddenly fluttered a little and her breathing hastened. She couldn't help but feel emotional when she finally saw him; it was like a gigantic weight was lifted off of her shoulders. He looked a little dismayed and his eyes seemed glazed over and distant, but he was there and he was okay, something she had desperately wanted to see for the past three weeks.

Andy waited a few moments to see if he would glimpse over at her. It was something she could always count on. Ever since she had known him, he was there to meet her eyes when she glanced back. Whether it was during parade or at a call, it was like he knew when she was going to look to him for reassurance and he was always there to provide it.

That day, he avoided looking at her altogether. She scowled and turned to face the front of the room. She quickly looked over at Traci and raised her eyebrows in confusion. Traci shrugged and mouthed '_I don't know?' _before turning back to pay attention to Frank.

At the end of parade, the room filed out and Andy jumped up to try to catch Sam. She quickly said goodbye to her friends but by the time she had the chance to scan through the crowd to find Sam; he had already left the room. Traci gave her a sympathetic look and a gentle shove before ordering her to find him and talk it out.

When Andy finally made her way out of the parade room, he was standing down the hallway, facing away from her and deep in conversation with Jerry. _You can do this, _she told herself, _it's just Sam_. She gathered up her courage, took a deep breath and confidently walked towards them. She caught Jerry's glance and gave him a pleading look, hoping he would understand her intentions. Not surprisingly, Sam and Jerry's conversation had ended by the time she reached the end of the hallway. She gave Jerry a small smile after he whispered 'good luck' in her ear when he walked by.

"Sam?" Andy said softly, reaching out to put her hand on his shoulder.

He spun around quickly and took a step back. "Officer McNally," he replied, distantly.

She was taken aback by his tone. She had never seen his face so expressionless before. She crossed her arms and stepped closer to him, bringing her into his personal space and asking him quietly. "How…? Where have you been?"

Sam cleared his throat and looked around her, not able to focus on one place. He opened his mouth to speak before closing it again. "I was suspended," he said blankly, refusing to meet her eyes.

She scowled in confusion. "Judging by my multiple phone calls and voicemails, I knew that Sam," she whispered matter-of-factly. "What's going on?"

"McNally, I need to get to work and so do you. Epstein is waiting for you," he told her impatiently, still not focusing on her eyes. "And I can't do this right now." He shrugged weakly and quickly walked past her to head to his desk.

She turned around to look at him. "Sam!" she called out, getting the attention of some of the officers passing by. She waited, but he didn't turn around to acknowledge her. She suddenly felt the knot of nervous tension rising up from her stomach. She headed for the parking lot to get some much needed fresh air and she begged herself not to cry.

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><p>He stayed that way for days. He avoided her at all costs which drove her nuts, but part of her was also thankful that she didn't have to see him all day. He would answer her if she spoke to him but he would never start a conversation and he very rarely looked her in the eye. It was uncomfortable, to say the least.<p>

"_Excuse me, Sir," Andy muttered, trying really hard not to lose her temper with him. He had barely looked at her for three days since their talk on the first day back and the irritation from that was beginning to affect her concentration._

_He looked up at her questionably but said nothing. _

"_These are all papers you need to sign off on before they can be filed," she told him, holding up bunch of file folders. "Best wants them done as soon as possible."_

"_Yep," he responded unemotionally, taking them from her hand and turning back to focus on the papers in front of him._

_She shook her head in astonishment and leaned in to him. "Is this it?" She asked calmly. "We're just done?"_

_He shrugged his shoulders coldly and didn't give her an answer._

"_You are unbelievable, Sam," she said shakily, continuing to lean in so only he could hear her. "I'm so mad that I ever let myself care about you. I should've known I couldn't trust you."_

_When he frowned and lifted his head up to reply, she was already gone._

Needless to say, she was extremely grateful that she was patrolling with other officers for the week instead of staying at the station. He was frustrating her to no end and eventually, she gave up on her efforts to talk to him.

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><p>On the fifth day back to work, Andy decided she was going to stop worrying about Sam and move on. She didn't exactly have a choice, but she couldn't keep going the way she was. Things hadn't been solved with him in the slightest, but if he was moving on, she would try to also.<p>

"It's like night and day, I swear," she told Chris while they patrolled that morning. "He doesn't even look in my general vicinity anymore. I don't know what happened," she huffed. "Well, okay, I know what _happened_, but I don't know why he's acting like this."

"Yeah, that's annoying," Chris agreed. "I don't know Andy, I think he's depressed or something. He doesn't even talk anymore. I offered to help him with some paperwork the other day and he just shook his head and went back to work. I can't think of one time that Swarek actually _wanted_ to do his own work. He used to jump at an offer like that."

Andy rolled her eyes. "How mature of him. That's so stupid. He's probably mad at me and he's taking it out on everyone else. I just wish he would man up and talk to me about… anything," she sighed hopelessly. "I said some stuff to him the other day that was pretty harsh, and I knew it would bother him, and still, no response. He didn't even fight back. He's just pushing himself further and further away from me and into a deep hole of seclusion."

Chris glanced over at Andy and quickly noticed how upset she was getting. "You know what? Screw fixing it. You're going to stop worrying about it, you got it? He's going to miss out and regret it for the rest of his life, but that's his problem. You shouldn't spend one more minute wondering about what's going through his thick skull. He's being an asshole to you and it's not fair."

She smiled at him gratefully. "You know what? You're right. Thanks, Chris." She picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Who are you calling?" he asked suspiciously.

She glanced over at him quickly before the call picked up. "Hey Trace, how's it going? That's good. Listen, uh, do you want to go to the Penny tonight? I heard there's a good band playing...Yeah, we're celebrating the fact that I don't care what Sam Swarek does anymore," she smiled. "Awesome, see you later!"

"You in?" she asked Chris, who immediately smirked and gave her a nod. "Good."

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><p><strong>If you didn't like it, that's okay. I'm not expecting a highly positive response, but please stick around and wait to see what's to come. You just might forgive Sam at some point.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for all of the reviews, alerts and feedback! I'm glad I caught your interest. **I am a _huge_ fan of Sam & Andy and I adore them as a couple, just so you know. **I wasn't planning to post another chapter for a few more days, but I wrote this one over a week ago and I've been dying to post it. Hope you enjoy it!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue

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><p>It was the weekly music night at the Penny, with a cover band taking the stage every Friday. The Penny attracted a different crowd on this type of night; it was usually younger cops and young adults from around the neighborhood as opposed to the usual older officers. It was the type of crowd that was always there to have a drunken good time and dance the night away.<p>

Andy had decided early on that this night at the Penny was symbolizing the beginning of her push to move forward and forget the past. She could really let her inhibitions go for the first time since her suspension. If she wanted to get drunk and dance, she'd do it. If she wanted to flirt with a cute college kid, she would do that too. She just wanted to forget everything that happened with Sam, even if just f or one night, and have a good time with her friends. His attitude and depressiveness had dragged her down for long enough; she was tired of feeling like crap.

A few hours in, Andy was having a great time. She was fully enjoying the band and enjoying dancing like she was back in college. She was drinking way too much alcohol but it was one of those times when she could say 'forget everything; I'll deal with the consequences in the morning'.

She tried not to think about the fact that alcoholism was in her genes and that using it to escape your problems was a terrible idea. Sadly, there were times when she easily understood why people like her Dad could turn to alcohol in times of stress. _It's just one night_, she told herself, shaking her head to rid it of negative thoughts, _you deserve a night to let loose. _

"McNally, you're on fire tonight! How many shots is that?" Dov yelled from across the table as Andy downed another.

Andy shook her head and yelled back. "I don't remember, but that's the best part, isn't it?"

Dov cheered and lifted up his shot glass to tap it against hers. "Where have _you_ been lately?" he said sarcastically, appreciating her carefree attitude. "I missed this! Rock 'n roll, McNally!"

"You know it!" She cheered and turned to head back to the dance floor to join Traci. It was dark and loud and everything Andy hoped it would be that night. The music screamed into her ears, giving her no opportunities to think about anything other than the current song.

"Hey!" Traci called out as she saw Andy approaching. "Everything alright?"

"Everything's great!" Andy replied happily, clearly loosening up from the alcohol. "I feel so free!"

Traci looked at her skeptically. "Is that Andy talking or a little friend I know named Jack Daniel?"

Andy laughed. "It's me, of course… with just a little bit of Jack taking over. Trace, I'm so glad we came here tonight," she leaned in and spoke loudly into Traci's ear. "I really needed this."

Traci smiled and nodded in agreement. "It's nice to see you smiling again!"

Andy didn't notice Sam enter the Penny around eleven o'clock, and she definitely didn't notice him watching her intently from his seat across the bar. He sat there alone, drinking his rationality away, and keeping to himself as always.

As much as she tried to not to think about Sam, he did enter her mind a few times throughout the night. She grinned as she thought about how he would react to way she was grinding up against the frat boys. After everything that happened, she thought it would feel so good to make him crazy with jealousy.

Soon after midnight, the owner of the Penny refused to serve her any more drinks and promptly called a cab to take her home. Sam glared from across the bar as he watched Andy embarrass herself. She straddled a drunken college kid, singing aloud and finishing her last beer. He had to use every ounce of his willpower to stop himself from throwing her over his shoulder and forcibly removing her from the bar. She hadn't even acknowledged him in the hour he was there; no dirty looks, no backhanded comments, just nothing. He kicked himself mentally, realizing how ridiculous he sounded. Why the hell would she pay any attention to him? He had basically ignored her for the past month. The problem was that he wanted to talk to her, really badly, but he had to keep telling himself it was for the best, and she'd move on.

It was one in the morning by the time Sam finished up his last drink. He was on his way home and somehow ended up in front of her condo. He grudgingly convinced himself to go see her, just make sure she got home alright.

He hesitated and waited a few minutes outside her door, but eventually gave in and knocked, waiting patiently for her to answer. He imagined she was probably passed out on the bathroom floor or puking out every bit of the contents in her stomach, judging from how many drinks he had seen her consume that night. He tried to ignore the guilt he felt about being the cause of her pain. _It's for the best,_ he told himself, _she's better off without you. _

When there was no answer, Sam continued to knock, getting increasingly frustrated as time went on. He eventually gave up and reached for the door handle. He rolled his eyes quickly as he thought back to the number of times he lectured her about properly locking her doors at all times. The door creaked open and he peeked in. It was dark but the streetlights illuminated the room enough for him to have partial vision. He scanned the room and finally noticed her, passed out cold and sprawled on the couch, still wearing her entire outfit from earlier that night.

He sighed and walked in, carefully closing the door behind him. He crept over to the couch and began to remove one of her heels. Suddenly, Andy stirred and cracked open her eyes.

It took her a moment to come to. She slowly sat up on the couch and rubbed her eyes. The room immediately began to spin and she clutched the side of her head to still herself. She looked around slowly and was alarmed when she noticed Sam standing in her living room.

"Sam?" she asked accusingly, gazing up at him.

"Yeah," he said softly. "Come on, you need to get to bed." He reached for her arm to help her up.

She shifted over on the couch, away from his reach. "Excuse me?" She scowled, slurring her words. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Andy, you're drunk and you need to sleep this off," he said calmly, attempting again to help her up off of the couch.

She shook her head in frustration. "No, don't touch me!" She yelled, smacking his hands away from her arms. "You don't get to just walk in here and pretend to be some knight in_ shining-fucking-armor_. I didn't ask for anything from you."

He clenched his jaw and took a deep breath to calm his temper before answering her. He knew he deserved some choice words from Andy, but when she was drunk she was relentless. "Fine, let me help you to bed and I'll leave," he muttered.

"Like hell you will. I can take care of myself, thank you. I made it home didn't I?" She snapped, growing frustrated at the difficult straps on her heel.

He rolled his eyes. "Do you even remember how you got here?"

As angry as Andy was, she almost giggled. Truthfully, she could barely remember how she got home but she was almost positive that Sam had nothing to do with it.

She glared up at him. He had no right to push her buttons like he was, or at least she thought he was; things were a little fuzzy in her head. "What's it to you _Sam_? Don't try to pretend that you give a shit now. That ship has already sailed."

"Andy…," he started hesitantly, trailing off.

"I don't want to hear it, honestly. And why are you still here? Can you just _leave_? Just get out!" She scoffed, scowling at him.

Sam went silent but still didn't budge, much to Andy's dismay. She growled in frustration and stood up, leaving one heel still attached to her foot.

"Why would you take off _one_ of my shoes? Clearly your entire reason for being here is to piss me off!" She glared back at him before giving up and stomping awkwardly towards her bedroom.

Abruptly, she tripped on the edge of the rug and fell onto the floor with a loud thud. She cursed under her breath and grabbed her knee, rubbing furiously.

Sam sighed and walked over to her as soon as he saw her tumble. "You okay?" he asked gently, leaning down and putting his hands under her elbows to help her up.

She nodded, but winced when she tried to walk again and impulsively reached out for his arm to find her balance. He gave her a small, defeated smile and she quickly tore her hand away. She scowled at him before turning to head towards the bedroom. "Just go, Sam." Her voice was shaky as she limped away. "I sure as hell don't want you here."

Hearing her voice cracking made a rush of guilt wash over him. He could feel every wall he built up quickly breaking down. Seeing her angry like she was at work was difficult but still manageable. He could talk himself back down when it was anger. But seeing her hurting, on the other hand, absolutely killed him; especially knowing he was the one to cause it. "For what it's worth… I'm sorry." He murmured. He didn't wait to see her reaction; he turned around and left the apartment, calling out at the last minute only to remind her to lock her front door.

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><p>Andy woke up the next day with only faint memories of the night before. She remembered parts of night, including spending time on the dance floor at the Penny with the other rookies, but the rest was fuzzy. She knew Sam had stopped by her apartment but she couldn't remember why or what they had argued about when he was there. The only part of their conversation that she could hear clearly in her mind was his apology after she told him to leave.<p>

Andy was surprised at her feelings of remorse as she remembered the hurt in his eyes. She should have felt angry and upset at him after everything he's put her through; there was no doubt about that. It was just that look in his eyes that showed her the old Sam, the one she originally grew to trust in such a short period of time. She thought back to the night when she went back to his apartment for the second time when he was undercover.

"_SAM!" she shrieked, struggling to get out of his grip, pushing him towards the other side of the bed. "Sam, stop! I'm warning you, I will leave. I swear to you, I will leave."_

_Sam laughed. "No, you won't," he told her cockily, eliciting a smile from her. "It's freezing outside, remember?"_

_She smirked and glared at him teasingly. "Well then you'll feel pretty guilty when you find out I froze to death out there because you wouldn't stop tickling me," she said with a scorn. _

_Sam raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You not going to leave," he mumbled, rolling on top of her to plant kisses along her collarbone and run his hand along her thigh. _

_She giggled, placing her hands on the smooth skin of his back and enjoying the feeling of his weight pressing down on her. "Oh yeah? You sound pretty sure of yourself."_

"_Mmmhmm," Sam confirmed quietly, leaving wet kisses up the side of her neck and stopping when he reached her mouth. He stilled for a moment to look into her eyes, while her hands ran over the muscles of his back and up to hold the sides of his jaw. She lightly rubbed the stubble on his chin with her thumb, taking him in._

"_I want to say something sweet right now but I don't know if your ego needs anymore boosting," Andy grinned._

_He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her sideways. "Something _sweet_, McNally?" he chuckled, grinning at her. _

_Andy rolled her eyes and shifted her gaze downwards as she ran her fingers through the hair on his chest. "Well now you just ruined it, so, too bad," she quipped._

_He grazed his hand down the side of her body, a glint of mischievousness entering his eyes. "Tell me," he whispered before leaning in to gently suck on her pulse point. He put a bit of pressure into her side with his fingers, causing her to flinch and burst into laughter._

"_Sam! Stop!" She squealed as she tried to grab his hand to pull it away from her body. _

_Sam stopped for a moment and lifted his head to look at her. He grinned at her cockily. "Are you going to tell me?"_

"_Definitely… not," she teased, preparing herself to be bombarded by him. After a few seconds of being attacked, she finally gave in. "Okay! Okay, okay, just stop!"_

_He smiled at her and shifted himself back up to rest on his forearms, lining his face up with hers. He raised his eyebrows probingly, waiting for her to speak. "So…"_

_She rolled her eyes at him, teasingly. "Okay, you know this isn't going to be the same now, right? Before, it would've been spontaneous. Now, it's just gonna sound corny."_

"_I'm okay with that," he said curiously, brushing her bangs off of her face._

_She sighed. "Okay well… I wanted you to know that you make me feel safe," she said quickly, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "I don't know how you do it, but you do. You're a _really_ good guy, Sam."_

_Andy tugged his face down to hers to kiss him softly, wiping the grin off of his face. She sighed as she got lost in the feeling of his lips gently pressing against hers and his tongue massaging her own. She moaned into his mouth in desire and lightly scratched the back of his head with her nails, making soft fists in his hair to keep him where she wanted him. _

_She tried desperately to purely enjoy the moment with him, but she couldn't stop herself from feeling a little depressed. As much as she loved being with him, it was difficult knowing she would have to leave the next day, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. She began to feel her emotions pouring to the surface at the thought of not seeing him for months. She suddenly drew back from his lips and peeled herself out from underneath him to roll off of the bed. _

_Sam scowled as he watched her hastily put a shirt over her head, throw on a pair of his boxers and saunter to the bathroom. She was in there for a while and when she finally came back out, he could tell something was up. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot and she looked a little disheartened. She walked past the bed to the kitchen and opened a cupboard, grabbing a glass from the shelf. He watched as she got herself a drink of water, not looking up at him even for a second._

"_Andy," he called over from the bed, softly. "Everything okay?"_

_She nodded sharply, not looking up to meet his glance. "Yep, of course. I'm fine," she said quickly, hoping to sound convincing._

_In the two years he'd known her, he had figured out that 'I'm fine' very rarely meant she was actually okay. He climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweat pants before padding over to the kitchen._

"_I'm fine, really," she repeated shakily, noticing the skeptical look on his face. "I get itchy eyes in the winter. I'm not upset. Like, I wasn't crying or anything."_

"_I didn't think you were crying," he said lightly, shifting sideways to stand in between the sink and her._

_Andy looked down towards the floor, wanting desperately for him to just stop watching her. He had a way of staring that made her feel like she was exposing her soul. She looked up again moments later and he was in the same position, waiting patiently for her to speak, as if he would wait all night. He wasn't touching her or saying anything, he was just waiting. _

_Without warning, she reached up and wrapped her arms around the bare skin of his neck, pulling him closer to hug him tightly. She could feel her eyes begin to well up with a few leftover tears when he wound his arms around her waist and rested his face in her hair. Eventually, she sighed and relaxed, gently scraping her nails against his scalp and making a soft fist in his hair. They stayed like that for a while, not talking, just enjoying the feeling of being in each other's arms. _

"_I wish you didn't have to leave," he grumbled softly into her neck, squeezing her tighter against him. _

"Ugh, shut up!" she told herself angrily, smacking her hand hard against the mattress. She had to stop herself from remembering moments like those, where she felt like he could read her mind. "You are mad at him. He ignored you for weeks."

She reached for her bag to find her painkillers and quickly thanked god that she wasn't scheduled to work that day or night. She hadn't had that much to drink in a long time and her body could feel every ounce of alcohol she had consumed. Her head was pounding and the thought of eating only caused her stomach to do flip-flops.

All of a sudden, she heard loud banging on her front door. She groaned and rolled off of her bed, throwing on a robe to cover her sweatpants and tank top. She squinted as she entered the bright living room and tiptoed to the door.

She had already decided if this wasn't important, she sure as hell wasn't opening it up. She hadn't showered and smelled like a combination of whiskey and last night's perfume. Her hair was tangled and undoubtedly looked like a rat's nest. She quickly scrubbed her hand over her face to appear less dishevelled.

She stood up on her toes to look out the peep hole and quickly rolled her eyes when she saw who it was. Her anger towards him had quickly returned to the front of her mind; he was one the very last people she wanted to see at that moment. She refused to open the door for him. It was partially due to embarrassment as she could barely remember their conversation from the night before, but partially because she would love to piss him off by ignoring him.

"Come on, Andy," Sam called out unenthusiastically through the door. She leaned her forehead against it and weighed the consequences of letting him come in. On one hand, she could finally get the chance to yell at him for being such a jerk to her for the past week. On the other hand, she was completely aware that her feelings for him were very present and on the surface. She was afraid she would forgive him too easily, which was the very last thing he deserved.

But he was a stubborn man, she'd give him that. After listening to ten minutes of impatient knocking she was seconds away from throwing the door open and tearing his head off.

"I know you're in there, Andy, come on."

She groaned quietly as she listened to him from the other side of the door. A few seconds later, she unlocked the door and slowly opened it, just wide enough for him to see her face. She noticed quickly that he looked completely exhausted.

"I swear to you, if you knock on my door one more time...," she warned, trailing off.

He sighed loudly in relief. "Can we talk?" he pleaded, sounding hopeful.

"No," she told him bluntly, attempting to push the door closed until his foot stopped her.

He tilted his head persuasively. "Andy…," he started, huskily.

"Seriously, Sam? Don't even go there," she snarled, waving her hand in annoyance. "I wanted to talk to you for the past four weeks and you clearly didn't have the decency to give _me_ the time of day. Now the minute I decide I'm done with all of this shit, you show up here and act like I'm the one who did something wrong."

"When did I say you did something wrong? All I'm asking for is for you to _please_ listen to me for a few minutes," he exclaimed wearily, immediately feeling guilty for letting his slight irritation enter his voice.

"Oh don't you dare," she snapped, through clenched teeth. "You have no right to be pissed off at me. If you think you can just…"

"Okay, you're right, I'm sorry. I'm not pissed off at you. Look, I'm working through a lot of shit right now, alright? I'm confused and miserable and I barely slept last night. My truck is not the most comfortable place to lie down," he said quietly, clenching and un-clenching his fists.

She could herself break down a little as she looked into his eyes. He really did look wrecked and depressed and it absolutely tore her apart to see him like that, but she refused to let it show.

"That's not my problem. I didn't ask you to sleep in your truck," she retorted, challenging him and raising her eyebrows.

He shook his head and looked up at the ceiling in defeat. "I fucked up, okay? Is that what you want me to say?" he barked, shakily. "Just listen to me for a minute. I almost ruined both of our careers because I was being selfish. I should have never asked you to come back that apartment. Do you realize that it could've been you in there with Jamie? I would've never forgiven myself if anything had happened to you. The fact that I even risked it proves that I'm no good for you. But for some reason I'm here anyways to beg you to forgive me," he paused to give her a chance to think before he continued. "Frankly, my job used to be the only thing I had to care about and my life was simple that way. I thought if we could just go back to the way it was, my life would be easy again, but I was wrong. My life might've been easier back then but I was lonely and I was unhappy. And for what I did to you in the past few weeks? I'm an idiot and a coward and a screw-up. I'm really sorry."

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked up into his eyes, processing everything he had just said. She cautiously opened the door and allowed him in. "My neighbours are going to complain if we keep this up in the hallway," she said quietly.

He nodded somberly as he walked in and leaned against the wall beside the door.

She stood a few feet back from him and crossed her arms, showing him her apprehension. She took a few deep breaths and gathered her thoughts before she spoke. "Do you have any idea how it felt to be ignored after everything that happened?" She could feel the tears start welling up in her eyes as she spoke. "I felt so guilty about the whole situation and I had zero support from you. After everything we went through together, you truly thought it would be best to just ignore me? We couldn't talk it out and end it on good terms, if that's what you wanted? You made me feel like shit, Sam. Like complete and total shit and you know what? This heavy feeling that I've been getting in my chest is too much and I don't know if I can feel the way I used about you anymore."

His eyes widened as she spoke. "Please don't say that," he whispered, surprised at how emotional he was feeling in that moment. He reached out to put a calming hand on her shoulder. "You're right, okay? Andy, I'm so unbelievably sorry. "

"I think you should go. Please, Sam, just leave," she mumbled, wiping the tears from under her eyes and shrugging his hand away. Until he had touched her, she was hopeful that they could have a straightforward conversation, but feeling the warmth of his hand pulled too many emotions to the surface and instantly made her feel vulnerable.

He nodded and pushed himself off from the wall. "Okay, I'll go, but you need to know something first," he replied softly, opening up her front door. "I don't regret one thing that happened during the undercover op and I would go through it all over again if it meant we could be together like we were. I just wish I could go back…," he trailed off. "Look, I know it seems unreasonable to say to you right now but honestly, _you_ were the best thing that ever happened to me. I'm sorry it took me so long to recognize that."

He walked out the door and closed it behind him, leaving her speechless. She headed back to bed and curled up under the covers, desperately trying to fall asleep and forget everything that had just occurred in her foyer.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Your responses to this story have blown me away. I really thank you all for your support. Your reviews have made my day! I have had some extra time on my hands to write so here's another chapter! **

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue.

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><p>Later that afternoon, her eyes shot open at the shrilling sound of her cell phone ringing. She looked around briefly and after seeing the darkness of the room, she realized she had slept almost the entire day. "Hello?" she answered, still half asleep.<p>

"McNally? Sorry to wake you. It's Shaw," he told her calmly and professionally, unable to stop the hints of anxiety from entering his voice.

She immediately picked up on his tone and skipped over the small talk. "Oliver, did something happen?"

He paused before he told her. "Everything's okay now, McNally, just relax."

Her heart rate jumped rapidly. As soon as he told her to stay calm she knew there was something to be worried about. "What happened?" she asked, emphasizing each word.

"Sam was in a car accident about an hour ago but he's alright, okay? Just a couple of minor injuries."

Andy instantly felt nauseated and jumped off her bed, heading towards her closet to find some clean clothes. "What happened?" she repeated. "Is he in the hospital?"

"He was in a cab. The driver was drunk and ran a red light. They were t-boned and Sam took a bit of the heat from it. He's at the hospital now and they're taking a look at him. I'm assuming you're coming; I'll be there in ten minutes."

She breathed a sigh of relief and tried to calm down. She didn't realize it until then that she was shaking. "Thank you, I'll be ready when you get here."

* * *

><p>"He's really okay, McNally," Oliver said calmly, noticing her chewing on her bottom lip. He had picked her up from her place just minutes before and they were finally on their way to the hospital. "He was pissed off that they made him ride in the ambulance. Doesn't seem like a head injury then, does it?"<p>

Andy smiled slightly, appreciative of Oliver's touch of humor. "Thanks Oliver. It's just one of those things when you need to see the person to make sure, you know what I mean?"

Oliver nodded knowingly, pursing his lips together to stop himself from saying something he had no business getting involved in. He silently debated, knowing that Sam would murder him for saying anything personal, but it was _Andy_ sitting there and he had a pretty good idea of how they felt about each other. He sighed and put a comforting hand on her knee. "Just give him some time. When he's got a lot on his mind he closes up for a while. I think he's said ten words to me in total since the undercover op, and I know it's not fair to anyone, especially you. But underneath that rigid exterior he's got a lot going on and he hasn't figured out how to deal with it yet."

Andy just nodded and smiled as a silent thank you and turned to look forwards again.

When they arrived at the hospital, there were already a few other officers in the waiting room. She was told they were monitoring Sam and would be keeping him overnight for observation. He hadn't fully healed from his previous injuries and they wanted to be wary of concussion symptoms and internal bleeding.

She sat down on one of the waiting room chairs and put her face in her hands. The past four weeks had been an emotional rollercoaster and this only added another unnecessary twist. She felt a hand on her shoulder before hearing Oliver's voice tell her that he's okay and they're just being cautious. She nodded weakly and thanked him for the reassurance.

A half an hour later, the nurse came out to announce that he was resting, but visitors were welcome. Andy quickly scanned the room to see if anyone else was jumping at the chance to go in and see him. She suddenly felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Go, McNally," Oliver told her quietly, tilting his head to motion her towards the nurse. "You're the only person he'd want to see anyways."

She gave Oliver a small smile and thanked him before she followed the nurse to Sam's room.

* * *

><p>When she entered his room, he was sleeping soundly. Aside from the brace on his wrist from his injuries the month before, she was told he also had a few cracked ribs and bruised shoulder. He had a second, larger gash on his face that was stitched up and looked a little bruised.<p>

Andy frowned and slowly walked over to his bed. She sat down in the chair beside him and genuinely examined his face for the first time in a month. She hadn't even truly seen the damage done by Jamie Brennan, which still looked worse than the injuries from his accident. Her eyes scanned over his older stitches, resisting the urge to reach out and touch him. She thought she could faintly see the lightest yellow tinged area where he presumably had a bruise.

In that moment, she wanted to be mad at him, really and truly angry with him for so many reasons. One of them being that he always told her to never trust other people's driving, and that was exactly what he did. She was told he had been drinking when he got into the cab, but she had her doubts that he was drunk enough to not notice an intoxicated driver. Through endless nights at the Penny, it didn't take long for Andy to figure out that he could hold his alcohol very well. It was only around eight o'clock in the afternoon when it happened, and Sam was very rarely a daytime drinker.

"So stupid," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head and looking up at his face. "Why are you so stupid?"

She leaned forward to lean her elbow on the bed and rested her forehead in her palm. On the way to the hospital she had told herself repeatedly that she wouldn't hold his hand or coddle him; he's a big boy and he got himself into this mess. But when she saw him lying there weakly, she couldn't stop herself from comforting him. She reached over and laid her hand on top of his, gently rubbing his knuckles with her thumb.

"I was a little afraid you'd show up here and stab me in my sleep," he said softly, causing her to flinch and look up at him.

She quickly let go of his hand and sat back in her chair. She crossed her arms and stared at him poignantly, not saying a word. "I thought about it," she snapped.

He lowered his voice. "Andy…"

"Do you know how stupid you were Sam? And how lucky you are that all you have is a bruised shoulder?" she demanded angrily, moments later. "What the hell were you thinking? You knew the driver had been drinking, why would you get in his cab? You could've been killed."

"Hey, you'd be better off then, right?" He chuckled, testing her.

Andy narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "That is _not_ funny. You would be so pissed off at me if it was me in your situation right now."

He nodded limply. "I know and I'm sorry," he responded sincerely. "I guess I wasn't thinking."

"No, you obviously weren't," she said matter-of-factly. "Were you even that drunk?"

He smiled slightly, temporarily appreciating the passion in her voice. "I was drunk, still am a little bit," he admitted, smiling a little. "After a few beers I thought it would be better to take a cab than to drive. The guy was a little tipsy and my gut was telling me it was bad idea, but for some reason I didn't really care."

"Right, mister _I-always-listen-to-my-gut-instinct_," she mocked, rolling her eyes. "And you know what? You should care…"

"Why?" He protested, cutting her off. "What's the point when the person you care about the most doesn't care about you?"

"Yeah, if that's not the most hypocritical statement to come out of your mouth," she huffed quietly. "What do you think I'm doing here Sam? If I didn't care, I would've stayed at home. I wouldn't be sitting here talking to someone that I don't particularly like right now. But you know what the ironic part of this is? All I've done for the past month is show you how much I care about you. I guess you were too caught up in your own little world to notice."

"Andy," he said softly. "I have a lot that I want to say to you right now but you know me and _talking_. I'm not very good at this whole _feelings_ thing."

She shrugged knowingly. "I'm listening."

"I, uh, I don't really know where to start," he laughed nervously. Andy gave him a small smile, finding his anxiety endearing. "Well, I was wrong to do that to you, and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness but I'm truly sorry. You have to understand how confused I was after everything that happened. All I've wanted to do since the day we met was protect you from every possible danger, but when you needed to be protected from me? I didn't know what to do. The fact is, I put your life in danger. I should've stopped it from the beginning. I should've walked out of the Alpine the second I saw you and Nash there, but I couldn't. As hard as it was to leave when I did, it was even harder to think about walking away from you, _again_," he cleared his throat, lowering his voice into a genuine serious tone. "You know, when Brennan had me tied to that chair, I was sure you were dead, or almost dead in a ditch somewhere. I spent hours trying to calm myself down and come up with a way to get out of there to find you. I was so mad at myself. After the beatings and the hammer and the waterboarding, I…I couldn't even believe that I was stupid enough to let him get near you."

She shook her head. "I made that decision myself, Sam. I knew it was dangerous and stupid and I still went back. I was the one who suggested we go to the Alpine, and I knew that you had been there before."

He shook his head in disagreement. "It doesn't matter. I'm the superior officer, Andy. I should've put your personal safety above my desire to be with you. I still can't figure out I got so carried away. I think it's because nobody's ever affected me like you do," he mumbled, looking away. "I thought I was doing what was best after the suspension by keeping my distance and letting you get back on the right track as a cop. You are a great cop, Andy, and I didn't want to destroy that any more than I already had. You deserve someone who's not going to put your life in danger or put their own selfish needs ahead of your safety. You're too important."

"But you didn't," she demanded calmly. "I'm an adult; you didn't force me to do anything against my own free will. Really, I put your life in danger more than the other way around, because I didn't want to leave you either."

He tried not to smile at her admittance. "I guess I thought maybe if I pushed you away long enough, you'd move on to someone better than me," he sighed, voice cracking. He swallowed and looked up to gaze into her eyes. "I never meant to hurt you like I did. I'd do anything to go back and do it over again."

Andy nodded slightly, spending a moment processing what he was saying. She took a few deep breaths before speaking. "I never wanted anyone else, Sam," she explained honestly. "I tried for two years to convince myself that I could be happy with someone else. I told myself the best thing was to just be your friend and your partner, that's it. But the more time we spent together, the more attached you I got. I tried to deny my feelings for you but it was hard when I thought about you constantly." She could feel the heat rising up into her cheeks at her admittance. "I don't know, I guess sometime in the past two years I ended up falling in love with you."

Sam's mouth fell open in surprise and took a few moments before answering. "Andy, I…"

She bit her lip self-consciously. "I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry," she blurted out, standing up out of her chair and heading for the door. She took his pause in speech as an indication that he wasn't ready to hear it.

"Wait, wait, wait," he pleaded from the bed. "Please, Andy, _wait_. There's going to be a very annoyed nurse in here in about fifteen seconds if you make me get up and chase you."

She turned around and leaned on the doorframe, keeping a safe distance from him. She refused to look at him even though she could feel his eyes staring at her intensely, making her even more uncomfortable.

She mentally kicked herself for saying it. She hadn't planned to, mostly because she hadn't even admitted it to herself. She knew it was true, but thinking it and saying it aloud were two completely different things.

She ran a nervous hand through her hair which she could tell was a knotted mess. "I didn't mean to say that," she said quietly, still not moving from her position by the door.

"I know," he replied honestly, lowering his voice. "Can you come back over here and sit down?"

She shook her head. "I don't think that's a good…"

"Please?" His voice cracked.

She was extremely close to giving in to him when two officers knocked on the door. She turned around to open the door to let them in.

"Sorry to interrupt. Would you mind if we stepped in to ask you a few questions about the accident?" One of the officers asked, motioning to Sam.

She cleared her throat and shook her head. "No, not at all, by all means," she said quickly as sighed a breath of relief. She quickly glanced over at Sam who was giving her his best unimpressed look. She shrugged apologetically and turned around to leave the room.

* * *

><p>Days later, she still hadn't heard from him. She knew he had been released from the hospital and wouldn't be back to work for a week or two, so it wasn't that she expected to see him, but part of her wanted to.<p>

She was beginning to feel guilty about leaving the hospital when she did. _Visiting hours were over_, she told herself repeatedly, _the hospital would have made me leave if I hadn't left when I did_. Although, she knew he would've insisted she stay anyways, even if it took the flash of his badge.

Andy wanted to see him; go to his house and check that he was okay. The problem was that the thought of being alone with him scared her a little; she didn't trust herself to not get carried away and do something she would regret. Truthfully, she wasn't certain if she had forgiven him yet. It took her two years to tear down her walls and let him in and she had her doubts that it would be an easy road for it to happen again. She had always trusted him very deeply, but trusting someone as a work partner was different than as a romantic partner, wasn't it?

Their conversations had been playing through her mind constantly over the past few days. She was pleased to have time to think about things, especially about where she wanted their relationship to go. As much as she tried to tell herself her heart wasn't in it anymore, his apologies were very convincing and very, very heart-wrenching. The one thing she knew absolutely was that her feelings towards Sam ran very deep; so deep that she wasn't sure she could consider not being with him in some way. It was as if her head was telling her she shouldn't love him, but her heart was telling a completely opposite story. She could feel a profound pull towards him from deep inside and as much as she tried to suppress it, it seemed like it could never go away.

She told herself she would make a decision about whether or not to go to see him by the end of shift, until Traci told her she was Leo-free for the night and really wanted to get a drink at the Penny. Andy reluctantly agreed, but knew she wanted to be there for Traci when she needed a friend.

* * *

><p>The Penny was quiet and relaxing that night, as it was most weeknights, making it a great place to wind down throughout the week.<p>

"So you've recovered from last weekend?" Traci giggled, shuffling up onto a bar stool beside Andy.

Andy winced and smiled slightly. "Yeah, that was pretty bad. It got to the point where I told myself I'd never touch a drink again," she admitted, laughing. "But you did convince me to come back here, so maybe I should be worried."

"Let's just say I'll never listen to Pretty Fly for a White Guy again without thinking of you," Traci laughed heartily.

Andy dropped her face into her hands in embarrassment. "Oh God, no. Please don't tell me I sang that?"

Traci nodded, not able to hold back her amusement. "You not only requested it, you also decided it would be a great idea to join the band on stage."

Andy gasped. "How could you let me do that?" She mumbled into her hands.

"There was no stopping you, trust me," Traci replied, bursting into a fit of giggles.

After they ordered drinks, their conversation lulled, strangely. Traci looked over at Andy, noticing her fidgeting with her glass and staring into space. "So…," she pressed, nudging Andy with her shoulder.

Andy perked up out of her daze and looked over at Traci. "So?" she asked innocently.

"Haven't heard from him?" Traci asked sympathetically.

Andy smirked and contemplated lying, but it was Traci asking and Andy trusted her. "Am I _that_ easy to read?"

Traci grinned and nodded. "I know that look. You miss him, I know you do."

Andy sighed. "Is it weird that I don't even know what I want from him right now?" She looked down at her hands before continuing. "I mean, obviously I care about him and he says he cares about me, but what if a month from now he realizes that it's not working out and walks away?"

Traci shifted in her seat, stalling while she tried to find the right words to say. "You know, when I found out you went back to see him when he was undercover, I was one-hundred-percent sure it was forever thing. Without a doubt, he was never going to let you go. So, I'm as surprised as you are about how he's acted and I don't blame you for not trusting him right now. _But_, people make mistakes," Traci shrugged. "And if he's telling the truth and he really wants it to work it out, then maybe he deserves a second chance."

Andy nodded slowly, sending her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Trace."

Traci's words stuck with Andy for the rest of the night. If anyone understood second chances, it was Andy, and as much as she hated to admit it, Sam had given her more than her share of second chances too. He didn't give up on her even through _two years_ of denial and suppression on her part. Maybe she shouldn't give on him just yet either.

They spent the next few hours drinking, talking and laughing. Andy's mood had improved dramatically; it felt good to not think about anything Sam-related for a while. In the middle of her explanation of the previous night's Survivor episode, Andy noticed Traci's eyes wandering and focusing on something behind her. She paused in the middle of her episode description to take a quick glance back and immediately spun back around, face full of shock. Her eyes widened at Traci, begging her for an excuse to get them out of there, but Traci shrugged and stood up, mentioning she needed to use the bathroom.

Andy took a breath and slowly turned back around in her seat. She wasn't nervous exactly, but she was completely unprepared to see him. If he wanted to work things out, she was going to need time to come up with the right words; _that_ took preparation.

She heard Nickelback's song _Far Away_ come on the stereo in the bar and almost rolled her eyes. _Great timing_, she thought.

Sam climbed into the seat next to her and rested his forearms on the bar. "McNally," he muttered, instantly noticing the way she deliberately avoided his eyes.

She smiled slightly and nodded to acknowledge him, fidgeting with the glass sitting on the bar.

"How've you been?" he asked cautiously.

"Fine," she replied shyly. "You?"

"Good. Had a lot of time to think," he said casually. "Well, actually I've had more than enough time to think lately."

"I have too. So, that's good then, I guess," she shrugged, continuing to fidget with her glass but clearly curious about where the conversation was headed. She could hear the chorus starting over the speakers and tried to think of something to say to block her ears from listening to the lyrics.

_You know, you know, you know…_

_That I love you, and I've loved you all along,_

_And I miss you, been far away for far too long,_

_I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go,_

_Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore…_

"Andy," he said gently, breaking her from her daze as the song continued into the next verse. He reached over to put his good hand over hers to still them. He had never heard the song before; but he smirked when he heard the lyrics and the apparent effect they were having on Andy. "Can you look at me?"

Andy turned her head sharply but stared at him distantly. She wanted badly to pull away from him and demand he keep his hands to himself, but his warmth was calming. She sighed and opened her mouth to speak, but held back.

"I know I don't deserve any kind of answers from you right now," Sam mumbled, leaning in towards her hesitantly. "But I need to know something."

She furrowed her eyebrows in surprise and nodded for him to continue. "What's that?" She asked in almost a whisper.

He swallowed. "In the past month, have you stopped thinking about me or _us_ for even a day?"

Andy shook her head and looked back at her drink. She knew he was right; he was constantly on her mind. Every morning she woke up wondering what he was doing and every night she went to bed wishing they had worked things out. "No," she answered honestly, sounding almost embarrassed to admit it.

Sam smiled slightly at her answer, feeling hopeful for the first time in a while. "Come with me," he pleaded, leaning in and whispering into her ear. "Please? I just want to talk"

Andy immediately began shaking her head. "Sam, I can't. I'm here with Traci and we're having a night out and..."

"Don't worry about it," Traci cut in from behind her. "Go."

Andy turned and looked at her pleadingly but Traci just grinned and leaned in to whisper. "You'll thank me later. Go. Talk to him."

Andy bit her lip and debated what to do, reluctantly listening to the lyrics again. She hated this song, she knew that for certain. Who knew a stupid song by Nickelback, of all bands, could make you do things you'd probably regret in the morning, she wondered.

_I wanted, and I wanted you to stay._

'_Cause I needed,_

_I need to hear you say,_

_That I love you and I've loved you all along…_

She sighed in defeat and stepped down from her chair. She put her jacket on while Sam waited patiently, watching her intently. He motioned for her to lead them out and just barely touched the small of her back to guide her. She felt the butterflies begin to flutter in her stomach as she walked out the door and into the parking lot, briefly feeling Sam's warm breath on the side of her neck. She climbed into his truck in silence and waited for him to start it up. She didn't know where they were going, but for some reason, she was okay with that.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Again, thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews. I'm so thrilled you are liking the story, and I hope you'll really love this chapter. I wasn't going to update with it right away, but I got excited ;). This is the last full length chapter, there is only the epilogue to come!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue.

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><p>It took a few minutes for her to realize where he was taking her, and that's when she began to get a little nervous. She would have preferred to go to her house instead of his at that point; at least she could kick him out if she wanted to. Going to his house meant she couldn't leave as easily and would be forced to walk home if something happened. Her knee began jumping just slightly and she bit her bottom lip, looking out her window so Sam couldn't catch on to the glint of nervousness in her eyes.<p>

Sam cleared his throat and shifted around in his seat before pulling up to a red light and turning to look at her. "Andy," he mumbled. "What are you scared of?"

She scowled. "Who says I'm scared?" she asked weakly, slightly embarrassed that he could see right through her.

He sighed and stared at the dash in front of him instead of her. "It's just me," he told her huskily. "Just relax."

She glanced over at him quickly, wanting to make a snarky comment about how much she didn't trust him, but held back when she realized he was being sincere. "The light's green."

She couldn't explain it, but for the rest of the drive, her knee didn't jump again, and the teeth marks in her bottom lip had slowly faded away. That feeling of safety she used to get when she was around him had returned a little and it should've made her panicky, but it didn't.

They arrived at his house a few minutes later. Andy followed close behind him as they walked towards the front door, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she waited for him to unlock it. She hadn't spent time at his house since the night of the blackout months before, and memories flooded back as soon as they walked up to the front door. He pushed the door open slowly and motioned for her to walk in ahead of him.

After removing their boots and coats in silence, Sam led them through the house. He paused when he reached the living room, realizing that Andy wasn't following behind him any longer. He looked back and noticed her leaning against the counter in the kitchen, daydreaming.

She took a deep breath and bit her lip nervously when he stopped in his tracks to look at her. She debated for a while if she wanted to bring up the events from the hospital, but she knew they would have to talk about it sooner or later. "I'm just going to come right out and say it," she said confidently, clapping her hands together lightly. "The other night at the hospital – I got carried away… I shouldn't have thrown that at you."

Sam sighed in relief, unusually thrilled that she was talking to him again. "You didn't _throw_ _anything_ at me," he insisted, taking a few steps towards her and immediately noticing her hesitancy.

"Sam…," she muttered, closing her eyes and putting her hands out in front of her as a plea for him to leave space between them. "Please…"

He paused, leaving ample space between them. "Andy, listen to me. I'm sorry I freaked you out, okay? I wasn't expecting _that…_" he admitted softly, noticing her grimace.

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry," she cut him off, running her hands nervously through her hair.

"No, Andy, listen!" he smiled as he interrupted her, stepping forward to take her hand out of her hair, willing her not to be nervous. He gently clutched her shoulders before he continued. "I wasn't expecting it, but you didn't say anything I wasn't prepared for, if that's what you're afraid of. You don't need to apologize."

"I do need to, Sam. It seems like I scared myself more than I scared you but I don't even know where we stand right now and I don't want…"

Sam rolled his eyes affectionately at her rambling. "I am in love with you," he said loudly, emphasizing each word.

Her eyebrows flew upwards in surprise and her jaw dropped slightly, taken aback.

Sam grinned slightly, thoroughly enjoying the shock in her eyes. "Andy McNally is speechless? I didn't know that was possible."

He made her smirk, finally. "Shut up," she said softly, shaking her head in disbelief.

She leaned into him and put her hands on his chest, pushing him backwards until he was up against the countertop. She suddenly wanted to be near him; to put her hands on him and feel his warm body against hers again.

She refused to look up at his eyes, choosing instead to focus on the buttons of his shirt. He placed his good hand on her hip and used his knuckle to tilt her face up to meet his eyes. She followed his lead and lifted her head but continued looking down. She was in a daze, deep in thought.

"_Andy_," he pressed, cupping her face and running his thumb along her jaw to her chin and back. "What's going on?"

She leaned into his hand for a moment, letting him comfort her. "I do love you," she whispered, finally looking up into his eyes.

He nodded and smiled slightly, furrowing his eyebrows. "Not the but-face again...?"

She dropped her head to look downwards again, feeling a twinge of guilt upon hearing the sadness in his voice. "_But_, I'm terrified of losing you. When we couldn't find you when you were undercover, it was the single worst day of my life," she paused, feeling his body tense up. "I was so scared that you were dead; I didn't even know what to do with myself," she admitted, desolately. "When we found you, it was like an actual weight was lifted off of my chest and I took a deep breath for the first time in a while. But then you were gone. I don't want that to happen again."

He sighed, frustrated with himself. "I don't blame you for worrying about that. Look at me," he demanded softly, gently running his hand up and down her back. "I don't care how long it takes; I'm going to prove to you how sorry I am."

Andy nodded, appreciating his sincerity. "I know you're sorry. I can see it and hear it and feel it every time I'm near you. It's really sweet of you, but you don't need to apologize _forever_. I want to be with you," she admitted honestly. "I just wish I didn't have doubts about the future."

Sam frowned, stilling his hand on her back. "What do you mean?"

"What happens when things get intense at work? Who knows if we'll ever ride together again, but what if we do? Every time we work together, we have to put work first," she pressed. "Are you going to be able to do that without wanting to close up and push me away?"

He nodded sharply. "It took me a while, but I realized something. Well, something else, anyway."

"What do you mean?" she asked skeptically.

"As much as I want to be your partner and ride with you every day, I don't _need_ that. As long as you're here at the end of the day, I can deal with the fact that it might be too complicated to be partners. If we get the opportunity, I want it," he admitted softly, grinning. "But if we really can't concentrate on work when we need to, we can request new partners."

Andy was skeptical of that scenario. She didn't like the suggestion that they wouldn't be able to work together again. They were able to for two years, even with days of tension and awkwardness in the air. She appreciated his honesty, but it wasn't the reply she had been expecting.

She stepped back and looked at him curiously. "Why do you think we wouldn't be able to work together?"

"I'm not saying we wouldn't be able to," he clarified softly, recognizing the hesitancy in her voice. "But _if_ we can't, for whatever reason, I think we'll be okay," he smiled, stepping forwards to press his lips to her forehead.

She leaned her forehead against his mouth. "You really think so?"

He nodded. "Yeah," he whispered, resting his hands on her hips. "I do."

He gazed into her eyes, as if to wait for permission to kiss her. When she smiled, he leaned in towards her face but lingered, waiting for her to take the lead. Her tongue briefly peeked out of her mouth to wet her lips before running her hands over his solid shoulders and up behind his neck, eagerly pulling his mouth onto hers. Her lips parted in an invitation and he wasted no time in accepting it, deepening the kiss.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him before raising his hand to cup the side of her face. He licked into her mouth lazily, taking his time to learn her again.

She sighed in approval and relaxed into his body, running her hands down his chest to play with the hem of his shirt. "Oh God, I missed you," she whispered, breaking off their kiss.

His mouth was back on hers in an instant and the kiss quickly intensified, warm tongues duelling for control. Her hands went up underneath his shirt, fingers digging in to the muscles of his back, eliciting an appreciative groan from deep in his chest. He lowered his hands to graze them down her sides, pausing to rub his thumb against the front of her bra. He began kissing down her neck slowly, sucking and licking until she whimpered and pulled him back up to her mouth. He tugged her tightly against his body and shifted his hips to finally feel the friction he desperately needed.

He pulled back breathlessly and looked deeply into her now darkened eyes. She nodded sharply and reached down to clasp her fingers through his, yanking him towards her. He grinned as she led the way to the bedroom, squeezing his hand tightly and suggestively. The look in her eyes showed him that she was wound tight and needed this as much as he did.

As soon as they were in the bedroom, he tugged her towards him, her back meeting his chest, as he began planting hot kisses up the side of her neck. She moaned quietly and felt his lips curving into a smile against her skin as he enjoyed teasing her. His hands went up the front of her shirt, caressing her stomach and breasts before lowering his hands to suggestively massage her thighs and pull her in closer to him.

"Oh my God, _Sam_," she gasped, breathing heavily and pressing back into him, easily feeling how ready he was.

Her entire body was on fire under his touch. It felt so right to be back in his arms after being apart for so long. During the few hours they had spent together during his undercover operation, they had barely taken their hands off of each other.

Now, after being apart for more than a month, she had imagined this time would be different, but it was more than what she expected. It was full of desperation and love and longing. There was a certain urgency that she hadn't noticed before; it seemed like it was their first time all over again.

He reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head in one smooth motion. She spun around to face him, grabbing a fistful of his t-shirt and pulling him towards the bed. At the last minute, she threw his shirt over his head before yanking him down on top of her, widening her thighs to allow him to settle in between them.

Sam groaned at the contact and kissed her swollen lips hungrily as his hands travelled beneath her to unhook the back of her bra. He pulled it through her arms quickly and urgently, and then immediately reached down to undo the button on her jeans. She wound her arms around him and pulled him closer, not giving him a chance to undo them. She pressed her bare chest up against his, relishing in the warmth of his firm body. She felt his hardness against her through his jeans and immediately began shifting her hips upwards, moaning softly at the pressure. He groaned and pushed her deep into the mattress, starting up a smooth rhythm.

"_Shit_, Andy," he moaned moments later, pulling away from her mouth and trying to catch his breath. "I can't – can we just…"

Andy smirked at his apparent frustration, kissing him hard and fast. She reached down and unzipped her jeans as he shifted downwards to pull them off in one smooth motion, dragging her underwear with them. She whimpered and reached for him, tugging him back on top of her and thrusting her tongue into his mouth. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and flipped them both over, laying her hands on his chest for balance as she straightened. She sat back on his thighs while she undid his jeans, gently running her knuckles over his zipper, causing him to hiss in pleasure. "_Fuck,_" Sam groaned quietly, reaching his hands down to speed up the process.

Andy giggled, enjoying the sight of him so out of control. He sat up and lifted her off of him. He stood up and tore his jeans and boxers off, wasting no time before climbing back on to the bed. She looked him up and down in appreciation, before being yanked on to him, the smile on her face cut off by his lips.

He flipped them back over and hovered above her, looking deep into her eyes.

"_Sam_," she moaned urgently, arching herself towards him.

He leaned in closer to softly whisper in her ear. "I love you."

* * *

><p>"Sam," she said softly, shaking his shoulder. "Sam, I gotta go."<p>

He rolled over from his facedown position on the bed and put his arms behind his head to prop it up. "Where are you going?" he said through a yawn.

"Work, obviously," she giggled, leaning down to plant a light kiss on his lips. She walked over and opened up the curtains, blinding him with sunlight until he begged her to close them. Andy had spent the night at his place but didn't get much sleep; only catching a few hours after they both exhausted themselves around three o'clock in the morning.

"Oh right, I forgot we have jobs," he chuckled, barely opening his eyes. "Well, you do anyway."

"Yeah, and I'm going to be late, as usual, if I don't leave now."

"Call in sick," he said huskily, reaching for her hand to clasp his fingers through hers. "Call Frank and tell him you have food poisoning or something and get back in this bed with me."

She grinned and shook her head. "You know I can't. Besides, you need to sleep so you can heal and we both know that wouldn't happen if I stayed here."

He tugged on her arm to pull her down to cuddle with him. She nestled into his shoulder and placed her hand on his chest, gently caressing him.

"I don't need sleep," he argued playfully, turning to kiss the top of her head. "And I hear physical activity is really important for the healing process, maybe even more important than resting."

She rolled her eyes, leaning on his chest and looking up at him. "So then go for a walk."

The smirk on his face quickly turned to a scowl. "McNally…," he warned, pretending to be hurt.

"_Sam_…," she mocked, copying his tone. "Thank you again for letting me borrow your precious truck."

Sam smiled unenthusiastically. "Be careful with it, okay?"

She shifted out of his arms and sat up to fix her hair and straighten out her jacket. "I always am," she said cheekily. She was about to stand up when his hand clasped onto her arm.

"Hey," he said huskily, smiling until his dimples were in full force. "Come here."

Andy smiled as she leaned in and touched her lips to his tenderly, resting her hands on his chest. Immediately, his hand came up behind her head and he tangled his fingers in her hair, silently pleading with her to stay home. When he parted her lips with his own and tried to deepen the kiss, she pulled back and gave him an unimpressed look.

"Sam, I don't want to be late!" She smiled sadly, standing up from the bed and fixing her hair for the third time that morning.

He groaned and glared at her before flipping himself back over onto his chest, throwing his face into the pillow and grumbling a quick goodbye.

* * *

><p>She pulled into the parking lot at the station fifteen minutes later. When she jumped down from the truck, she immediately heard someone clear their throat suggestively. Oliver stepped out in front of his car and smiled genuinely, folding his arms across his chest. She grinned back at him instantly, feeling a blush rising up her face to redden her cheeks. He stared at her knowingly until she broke into a fit of giggles.<p>

"How's he doing?" Oliver asked finally.

"He's good, as far as I can tell," she smiled, walking alongside him towards the station.

Oliver nodded. "I'm really happy you guys worked things out. You mean a lot to him and I know he was struggling with that," he told her seriously.

She grinned. "Thank you. I don't know if I thanked you enough for everything you've done in the past little while. You've really been there for me."

"Anytime, Andy," he said sincerely, holding the station door open for her.

As they were about to go their separate ways to the locker rooms, she put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "I also wanted to thank you for being such a good friend to Sam. He's lucky to have you in his life," she said quietly. She reached up to circle her arms around him, hugging him warmly.

"Thank you, I appreciate that," he smiled, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze before backing away to the men's locker room.

* * *

><p>Andy ran into the parade room with seconds to spare. Traci looked over at her knowingly with a suggestive smirk across her face. She leaned over and whispered '<em>tell me everything' <em>into Andy's ear. She smirked at her and nodded, mouthing the word _later _in Traci's direction. Unusually, they were paired to ride together that day which gave them hours to chat, as long as they weren't overly busy.

While Andy took her time getting out to the car, Traci was in a rush and extremely impatient to find out all of the exciting details. She shoved Andy along from her quick conversation with Dov, giving him an apologetic look and telling him she'd buy him a beer to make up for it. Once they were in the car, Andy sighed in defeat and waited for Traci to bring it up. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell her, it was the fact that it was _such_ a long story that really didn't have an ending yet.

"So… what happened? Fill me in!" Traci exclaimed as soon as they pulled out of the parking lot. Traci had insisted that she should drive so Andy would be able to fully concentrate on her explanation. "I need to know _everything_. Where did you guys go after the Penny last night?"

Andy smirked and felt a blush rising into her cheeks as she told Traci the story from the night before. She told her about the night after the Penny and the day after, when Sam ended up at her place and begged her to listen to him. The story was interrupted a few times by calls, much to Traci's dismay, but by the middle of the afternoon, Andy was finally able to finish telling it.

"That's um, _wow_," was all Traci could respond, tweaking an eyebrow in curiosity. "It's funny, because apparently he's nothing like the act he puts on. For some reason he wants people to think that he's cold and unaffected and doesn't care about anything, but he's actually not…?" she realized, smiling. "Or maybe he just has a huge soft spot for you."

Andy giggled and shrugged lazily. "I'm actually still trying to figure that out myself," she joked.

Traci laughed. "I'll bet you are," she said suggestively. "It's a little hard to figure out normal things like that when you never leave his bed."

Andy scowled at her, holding back a laugh.

Traci backed down and changed the subject, calming her laughter. "Okay so my next question is; why did he ignore you?"

Andy shook her head and sighed. "I think he was really confused about everything. I don't why he thought ignoring me was a better idea that talking it out," she smirked, blinking feverously as she jokingly tried to consider his reasoning. "But he thought I deserved better than him because of '_how stupid he was' _during the undercover. Basically, he was trying to distance himself because he thought I'd move on that way."

"Move on? Like to another guy?" Traci asked, taken aback at the idea.

"Yep," Andy chuckled sadly.

Traci scrunched up her face, deep in thought. "Well, I guess that's kind of sweet in a… sad way," she admitted, laughing quietly.

"Yeah, that's kind of how I see it too. He had good intentions," she realized, furrowing her eyebrows. "He just… I think part of him thought I would want an opportunity to leave at first, you know, _no strings attached_, which is why he ignored my calls. But when he saw that I wasn't giving up or running away or anything, he tried to _make_ me run, because he thought I should've wanted to… if that makes sense."

Traci nodded. "I know what you're getting at," she told her honestly. "Well, I'm really glad he came around anyway."

"Me too," Andy smiled.

Traci smirked mischievously and caught Andy's suspicious glance. "So what was that thing you were talking about earlier with Sam and his…?" she asked matter-of-factly, raising her eyebrows and suggestively using hand motions.

Andy burst in laughter but didn't get the chance to explain as the radio cut her off, sending them speeding off to a call.

* * *

><p>Later that day Andy arrived back at Sam's house, walking in to the smell of pasta sauce filling the air. She inhaled a deep breath and felt like she could almost taste it, causing her stomach to grumble loudly. She padded into the kitchen and smiled when she saw him leaned over and checking on the food in the oven.<p>

"Hey," she smiled, putting her hand on his shoulder.

He flinched at her touch and looked up, clearly surprised to see her. He grinned as he stood up. "Hey."

"Looks like it's done," Andy told him, peeking into the open oven.

He smirked and widened his eyes playfully, tugging her towards him and winding his arms around her waist. "Nope, still needs a good half hour in there. Trust me."

"Oh yeah?" She smirked, pulling him towards her to kiss his mouth. "I'm supposed to trust your baking skills, just like that? Even though I haven't seen any proof that you can actually bake?"

He shrugged, running his hands under her shirt and gripping on to her rib cage. "Sometimes you just know."

She chuckled and kissed him again, gently scratching his nape. When she pulled back, he headed to the dining room to grab a bottle of wine. He had refused to let her help with dinner so she watched him mindlessly gathering plates, silverware, candles and wine glasses, meticulously setting up the kitchen table.

Eventually, she broke the silence. "Sam?" She said hesitantly.

He spun around, smiling. "Hmm?"

"I trust you, okay? But it's still gonna take me a little bit of time to, you know, trust you _completely_ again," she hesitantly admitted, immediately appreciating the acceptance in his eyes.

He smiled and nodded knowingly. He had a hunch there was a double meaning in her joke about trust and he was happy she brought it up again. "I know it is. Don't get me wrong, I want you to trust me _completely_ and I want you feel safe with me again, but you're here and that says a lot."

Andy nodded and giggled a little, thinking back to their conversation in the undercover apartment. She padded over to him and circled her arms around his neck to hug him tightly. She lowered her face down to kiss the front of his shoulder before mumbling, "I do trust your baking though."

Sam chuckled. "Good. Let me tell a secret about baking; it's all about the timing."

She pulled back from their hug but left her hands resting on his shoulders as she gazed at him thoughtfully. "Oh, it's the timing, is it? Well, did I ever tell you how much I hate _time_? And spacefor that matter?"

He chuckled. "I know, I know. It just doesn't involve you _doing anything_," he mocked, using a high pitched tone and pulling her hips towards his teasingly.

"Shut up!" she smacked his shoulder in annoyance.

He laughed heartily, releasing her from his hold. "You do sound like that though. Half the time I can't figure out what you're saying," he demanded.

She glared back at him, causing him to burst into laughter. "That's it, I'm telling everybody I know about _Ernie_," she teased, trying to keep a straight face. "I'm sure Oliver would love to hear about something like … SAM!"

She shrieked as he grabbed her arm and yanked her towards him, eliciting a huge grin on her face. He walked backwards towards the bedroom and held on tight to her as she resisted, cursing at him teasingly. When his back met the bedroom door, she threw herself up against him as he fumbled around, awkwardly searching for the door handle. When they finally opened it, half of Andy's clothing had already been removed and she was working on his belt. She quickly ripped his shirt off and pushed down his jeans before shoving him towards the bed.

"So what, this is supposed to make me forgive you?" she challenged, raising her eyebrows as she straddled her legs across him, resting a thigh on each side of his hips.

He smiled smugly, pulling her down before flipping both of them over, immediately impressed with himself. "Yep."


	5. Epilogue

**A/N: This is the final chapter! Thank you all for your support in this story, I'm glad to hear so many of your enjoyed it. **

**Thank you Sairs for beta reading - I've truly appreciated your help!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue.

* * *

><p>It was a regular Saturday night and finally the end of their five-day long shift. Sam had only been well enough to be back on patrol for a couple of days since working at a desk for the past three months. He wasn't allowed to be partnered with Andy for the time being; Frank believed they weren't ready yet, much to their dismay.<p>

Back when Sam was on desk duty, Andy would be in and out of the station throughout the day, stopping by when she could to see him. Working shift work with crazy long hours forced them to take advantage of the fact that they work together. Now, that they were both out patrolling, they typically only saw each other in the morning before they left and at night when they arrived back at the station. It was an adjustment to say the least, but regardless, Sam was thrilled to be back out on patrol. Andy couldn't help but be happy for him; he was back in his element and doing what he was good at.

Earlier in the day, Andy was caught in an interesting situation; one that she wouldn't have guessed would bother her. Two squad cars had been sent to St. Mike's hospital that afternoon. Five teenagers had been shot the night before in a drive by in front of a convenience store and all of the conscious ones needed to be interviewed.

As soon as Andy and Dov walked into the intensive care unit of the hospital, they spotted Sam and Traci. They were deep in conversation with a couple of doctors, presumably about the status of the patients.

Suddenly, it hit her. One of those doctors was not a doctor; she was a nurse. It was Monica, Sam's ex-girlfriend, or ex-friend, truthfully Andy wasn't sure. Monica was casually chatting away to Sam with a slight smile on her face. If Andy didn't know any better, she would assume they were old friends, and that made her uncomfortable. She frowned a little as Monica leaned in and nudged Sam's shoulder. The pang of anxiety that pooled in her stomach took her by surprise, but regardless, she was working and tried to not let it affect her.

She followed Dov towards them and nodded a hurried hello to Monica, taking a quick peek at Sam before turning around to talk to another doctor.

A couple minutes later, Sam and Traci were being directed to the room of one of the injured teenagers. She refused to look in their direction in case _Monica _still happened to be standing there. She heard Sam clear his throat, clearly trying to get her attention, but she continued to ignore him. When she felt his hand brush up against hers gently, she looked back at him for a split second, sending him a small smile and turning back to the doctor.

Later that night, Andy was itching to ask him about it. She tried desperately to push it out of her mind and convince herself it was nothing, but it continued to plague her. She was hesitant though, because she didn't want him to think she was one of those obsessive girlfriends who didn't want her boyfriend talking to other women. She was strictly curious about what happened between them, but there was no casual way to approach it. She had hinted at it a couple of times, but he promptly dropped the subject.

They were out for dinner at a fancy restaurant, celebrating Sam's return to patrolling. They were having a comfortable, relaxing time and she was hesitant to bring it up. If the conversation turned sour, it could ruin their dinner or they would be forced to work it out in the middle of a restaurant. Neither option sounded appealing to Andy, but she was _so _curious.

Eventually, she couldn't hold her tongue any longer. "So," she started, breaking the silence. "Was that _weird_ today?"

He scowled. "Was what weird?" he asked blankly, not looking up from his plate.

She smirked. "You know what..."

He finally looked up, arching an eyebrow while he thought about the day. He swallowed slowly before speaking, moments later. "Running into Monica?"

She nodded slowly. "What else would I be referring to?"

He snorted. "I don't know, Andy, I can't read your mind." He looked up to see her giving him a very unimpressed look. He stopped smirking and cleared his throat "No, I wouldn't say it was weird."

She nodded and dropped her head back down to look at her plate. "Oh," she said lightly, trying to seem unaffected, moving her food around on her plate with her fork. "Well that's a good thing then."

He held back a smile. Andy had never been very successful at acting nonchalant about things; he figured that out from the beginning. "Andy," he muttered softly, willing her to look up at him.

She continued looking down, fiddling with her food. "Yeah?" she asked cheerfully, gazing up at him with an unassuming smile.

"Why do you keep bringing her up?"

Her expression flipped and she immediately glared at him. "I'm not… I don't _keep bringing her up_. I asked you one question about it."

He shook his head and bit the inside of his cheek to suppress a smile. "Okay, but you've been hinting at it for hours. Don't deny it."

Andy shrugged innocently. "I was? I don't know what you mean."

"Okay, cut the bullshit," he said quietly, leaning in closer to her from across the table. "Come on, out with it. What do you wanna know?"

She tried to remain straight faced but took one look at him and grinned. "Okay, you win," she threw her hands up in defeat, giggling. "I'm curious about her. I know nothing about the people you've dated or been with or whatever. I mean, you know all about me and Luke and how that relationship started and ended. So what about you?"

"Finally!" he chuckled, appreciating her honesty. "Okay, I'll tell you about it, but I think you're making it out to be something more than it ever was. We went out a few times before I went on that undercover, nothing serious, just a couple of dinners. It was a very… _casual _relationship. When I got back from my undercover, I wasn't planning on seeing her again, but you know how I get when I'm drunk," he laughed.

Andy shifted in her chair a little and bit her lip, trying not to let his frank explanation bother her. "So she was just a booty call?"

He hesitated before answering, unable to read her expression. "If you want to say it like that. Maybe it was a little more than that because I did care about her, but she wasn't really an important part of my life," he explained, reassuring her. "She wanted something serious; I didn't."

Andy nodded. "Okay, so why didn't you want anything serious with her?"

Sam chuckled. "A few reasons, the main one being that I wasn't looking for a commitment; I liked going undercover and commitments don't really work out when you're gone for months at a time. Secondly, I've had a couple of long term relationships that didn't work out and _yes_, I'll tell you about them, if you want to know," he smirked.

She giggled and shook her head lightly. "Maybe another time. One ex-girlfriend is enough for one day," she clarified, hands coming out in protest. "So what happened?"

"Well, after I was busted in my undercover, I got to know this new rookie and she kinda pulled me in," he grinned. "I mean, Monica was nice, she was… there. But, uh…,"

She watched him scowl as he sorted his thoughts. She nudged him under the table with her foot, getting his attention. "Uh…?"

"I guess it came down to the fact that she wasn't _you_," he sighed.

Andy felt a blush rising into her cheeks and up to the tip of her ears. She nodded and smiled at him admiringly. "I know what that's like," she admitted, taking another bite of her pasta. "Were you the one to break it off?"

He shook his head. "No, she ended it. It was probably for bigger reasons than what she was letting on, though. She knew I wasn't serious about it and as much as she pretended she didn't care, I guess she actually did," he paused, glancing at Andy's reaction. "So, no. Today wasn't _weird_. It's completely in the past. We've both moved on."

"Well, you have but it seems like she's still holding a bit of a torch for you," Andy teased, cautiously challenging him.

"Doesn't matter, Andy," he cut her off. "I don't care what she thinks of me. Like you said, I've moved on."

"Okay," she nodded. "Fair enough."

"Good," he said quietly. He moved his foot over to her underneath the table and began suggestively rubbing the sole of his shoe lightly against her pant leg. She looked up from her plate and smirked at him, but quickly ended his shenanigans and pulled her legs under her chair.

"We're at a nice restaurant, Sam," she mumbled quietly, holding in a giggle.

"Hey, you started it," he challenged.

"We're surrounded by rich people and senior citizens. Can we please just sit here and pretend to be a _normal_ couple?"

He scowled at her and sighed defeatedly, leaning against the back of his chair. "Well where's the fun in that?"

She shook her head and smirked at him complacently. "Just eat!"

* * *

><p>A half an hour later, they had finished up dinner and were on their way back to Sam's house. Sam could tell Andy had been unusually quiet for the rest of dinner, as if there was something else she desperately wanted to ask. He glanced over at her a few times during the drive, debating whether or not to approach her about it.<p>

"I was jealous of her," Andy sputtered a minute later, saving Sam the trouble. His head turned and he raised his eyebrows questionably. "Monica, I was jealous of her. And I'm sorry to bring her up again but I wanted you to know that. It's embarrassing, but you opened up to me so I want to do the same."

He nodded. "I'm glad you told me, even if I already knew that," he teased, turning his head to grin at her.

She scowled at him, crossing her arms. "What do you mean?"

"The first time you met her, you didn't like her and for absolutely no reason. You glared at her and huffed and puffed. Even the way you used to say her name was pretty telling. For a while I didn't understand it, but it gave me a little bit of hope anyway, so thanks for that."

She gazed at him sadly, hit by the weight of his words. "_Sam_."

He glanced over at her, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "Hmm?"

"I'm sorry for pushing you away for so long," she apologized quietly, deep regret filling her voice. "You were always there; I wish I would've noticed it sooner."

He smiled and reached over the middle console, clasping his fingers through hers "Don't apologize," he said softly.

* * *

><p>When they arrived back at Sam's house, they both crashed. Andy was flopped onto the couch minutes after getting there, while Sam was deep in the fridge, grumbling about forgetting to pick up beer and being stuck with the kind he dislikes. He finally made a decision and cracked off the top, throwing the lid on the counter and heading over to her.<p>

"I'm glad we did that," she said softly as he neared her.

He arched an eyebrow and sat on the coffee table in front of her, leaning his elbows on his knees. "What?"

"Went to dinner," she reminded him. "We don't get to do stuff like that very often. I liked it."

He rolled his eyes affectionately. "You know, I'll do that stuff more often if you want to do it," he chuckled. "You can just tell me straight up. You don't always have to hint at things."

She scoffed. "Right, because _you_ always say things as they are. You never hint at things, ever. '_We make a good team you and me,_" she said huskily, thinking back to their undercover operation the year before.

His snorted as his eyes danced around her, refusing to look into her eyes. Eventually, he scowled and looked down at her. "Shut up."

She burst into laughter. "That's _all_ you have to say? _Shut up_?"

"_Anyway_," he grumbled loudly, cutting her off. "What do you want to do? Watch a movie…?" He asked, quickly switching the subject.

"Let's do nothing," Andy said lazily, smiling and reaching over to grip his thigh. "I need a night of absolutely nothing."

He caught the glint of mischief in her eyes and put his beer down beside him on the table. He picked up the remote to click on the radio, hoping it was already on a good station. She reached for his hand and pulled him down on top of her before shifting around to get comfortable. She wrapped her legs around his hips, holding him tight against her before tugging his face down to hers, capturing his lips.

"Hey, I know this song," he murmured into her neck minutes later, quickly shifting off of her.

She scoffed at him irritatingly, trying to gain control of her erratic breathing.

He walked over to the stereo to turn up the volume before looking back at her impishly. Andy grinned when she realized what song it was; the same one from the night at the Penny months before, _Far Away_.

He spun around and walked back over to the couch, holding his hand out. "Come on," he smiled.

She shook her head, and patted the couch, hoping he would lie back down. "What was wrong with what we were doing?" She groaned.

He smirked. "Nothing, just come here."

She gave in and stood up, hesitantly walking towards him. "_Sam_, what is this?" she asked blankly, scowling.

He smiled back at her and placed his hand on the small of her back, pulling her tight against him. She laughed and laid her hand on his shoulder, leaning in to rest the side of her face against his. "Sam Swarek is a dancer?" she teased, raising her eyebrows and clasping her other hand in his.

He chuckled and turned his head to kiss her cheek. "Don't tell anybody," he said softly into her ear.

"So what, is this _our song_ now?" She giggled, moments later.

"No, that would be depressing," he chuckled, talking softly into her ear. "But I know _you_ like it. You sang it like every day for two weeks when we first got together," he teased, eliciting a giggle from her.

They swayed gently to the music, sending them both into their own little world. When Sam began mumbling some of the lyrics into her ear she leaned away from him and looked at him in shock. "How do you…? Since when do you know the words?" she grinned in wonder.

He smiled and tugged her back against him. "It's a good song," he admitted. "And like I said, _you _liked it."

She sighed, touched by his admission. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and leaning her chin up against his shoulder.

When the second chorus ended, Sam leaned his head down and began planting kisses down her neck. Suddenly, he whispered in her ear, following along to the tune, "Cause with you, I'd withstand, all of hell to hold your hand."

She grinned and paused for a moment to recall the words before whispering back, "...Give anything but I won't give up."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading!<strong>


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